This invention relates generally to gift cards and more particularly to a device for holding and displaying gift cards while providing indicia and/or audio recordings selected or provided by the purchaser to personalize the gift.
Transaction cards, stored value cards, or gift cards as they are commonly called based upon their intended use, have become popular gifts. Gift cards typically comprise a stored value card whereby a certain cash equivalent value is encoded upon a magnet strip applied to the surface of the card. This stored value may be determined by the vendor prior to packaging and display for sale or, may be selected at the point of sale by the purchaser and loaded by the cashier using a magnet card reader/writer. Gift cards may, alternatively, be provided with a bar code or account number that links the card to a system account in which a record is stored associated with a monetary value. While popular, gift cards are typically provided with a generic and impersonal design, typically identifying only the associated merchant for which the card may be used to purchase merchandise, and therefore are not personalized in view of the intended recipient.
Devices for recording, storing and playing back audio have been associated with greeting cards and the like, such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,577,018, 5,652,606 and 6,845,583. The audio circuitry typically includes a speaker that also functions as a microphone when recording a message, a control circuit, a memory circuit to provide random access memory, one or more switches, batteries to provide power to the device, and associated wiring and mounting hardware. Gift card holders provided with audio components are known in the prior art as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 11/539,277 and 11/788,025. These devices typically comprise a molded plastic housing for holding the audio circuitry. Gift card holders designed for use as ornaments are known in the prior art. For example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/582,226 discloses a molded ornamental gift card holder that includes a window for holding and displaying the gift card. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/445,780 discloses an ornamental gift card holder that includes either a pocket for receiving and holding a gift card or gripping elements that engage the sides of a gift card for holding it against the body of the ornament.
What is needed, therefore, is a gift card holder that enhances the gift by providing sound, while housing the gift card in an inexpensively produced and lightweight structure that may be hung as an ornament.